First drink? Your brain will never forget it

The first time you consume alcohol, you learn something that will affect how you approach drinking thereafter, and binge drinking at an early age may encourage dangerous habits in the future, says a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.Neurological changes occur with the first drink of alcohol. Young people abuse alcohol more than any other substance in the US, and American 12-20-year olds consume 11% of all alcohol nationally. Statistics from the National Institute of Health (NIH) show that by the age of 15 years, about 35% of teens have consumed at least one alcoholic drink, rising to around 65% by the age of 18. Although adolescents drink less frequently than adults, the practice of binge drinking means that when they do drink, they consume more. In fact, American…